While speaking at IAC in DC on Sunday, someone asked what to do about rival communities.

This depends if you’re dealing with a split or a shift.

A split is when two factions emerge and you need two communities to handle them.

In Bitcoin’s case, there has been a very literal split.

In a split you double down on being relevant to the segmented audience you have.

A shift is more worrying. This is when a new trend (or new need) is arising and you’re not covering it well. This opens the door for someone to start a new, more focused, community that may soon dominate the space.

Shifts need to be covered quickly. Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp was a great covering strategy. A new need emerged and Facebook covered it. Likewise, Instagram/Facebook’s stories are good examples of covering Snapchat.

Your case is likely to involve using new technology or covering new topics. This will upset your current members. That’s the hard part.